Beckett, Derrida, and the Event of Literature

The late Jacques Derrida's notion of literature is explored in this new study. Starting with Derrida's self-professed inability to comment on the work of Samuel Beckett, whom Derrida nevertheless considered one of the most interesting and exemplary writers of our time, Asja Szafraniec argues that the shared feature of literary works as Derrida understands them is a double, juridical-economical gesture, and that one aspect of this notion (the juridical) is more hospitable to Beckett's oeuvre than the other. She then discusses other contemporary philosophical approaches to Beckett, including those of Gilles Deleuze, Stanley Cavell, and Alain Badiou. The book offers an innovative analysis of Derrida's approach to literature, as well as an overview of current philosophical approaches to contemporary literature, and a number of innovative readings of Beckett's work.

Author: Asja Szafraniec
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 06/01/2007
Pages: 264
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.79lbs
Size: 8.93h x 6.33w x 0.56d
ISBN: 9780804754576

Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 11/01/2007 pg. 275

About the Author
Asja Szafraniec obtained her Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Amsterdam.